Jeevika, a Sonari-based special school, has brought smiles on the faces of needy mothers of three intellectually impaired students by giving them work.

Dolly Francis, Satinder Kaur and Anuradha, all residents of Sonari, were facing hardships in managing their families till Jeevika chipped in with the much needed helping hand.

While Dolly remains busy in packing Diwali diyas, Satinder does stitching. Anuradha, on the other hand, deftly paints diyas and paper bags. All are occupied and, more importantly, earning to keep their families afloat in difficult times.

"We gave work to these mothers on humanitarian grounds. They are from poor families and badly needed earnings. So, we decided to engage them in our daily work and also pay them remuneration. They have been with us for the past two months," said Jeevika founder Avtar Singh, a former international cyclist.

According to him, they make Diwali diyas and gift bags every year. "Some of our students put varnish and also paint the diyas. Around 10,000 diyas are being made. Some are ready while work on the rest is underway. We needed extra hands for packing, painting and wrapping ribbons on the gift bags. We thought of the mothers of our intellectually impaired students and subsequently roped them in," Singh, who was recently elected secretary of Jharkhand Para Sports Association, added.

Remuneration of Dolly, Satinder and Anuradha ranges between Rs1,500 to 2,500 for three hours of work on weekdays.

The Jeevika founder added mothers' work was need-based since making diyas and gift bags are not made throughout the year. "But we'll certainly help them out whenever we need hands. We understand that several families are facing financial crisis in this pandemic. Dolly, Satinder and Anuradha are good at their respective work and this gives us immense satisfaction," Singh added.

Dolly, whose son Ryan is a medallist in para athletics, said she loves working at Jeevika and thanked Singh and his wife Sukhdeep (secretary of Jeevika) for the timely help. "It's a great gesture from Jeevika in providing me work and remuneration," she added.

Jeevika, an NGO, promotes special athletes through the medium of sports. It has taught them the importance of Covid protocols. One of the students N. Sai Krishna claimed medals in athletics at the Special Olympics International World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi in 2019. Other students have achieved success in national competitions.